Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02717530 2013-01-11
ORBITAL SMOOTHING DEVICE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a device for smoothing and/or
polishing
various materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a device capable of smoothing
and/or
polishing various materials. Smoothing includes grinding, stock removal,
honing,
polishing, sanding and similar actions of flat and curved surfaces to polish
and/or smooth
such surfaces. Abrasives are used to cut and polish surface areas of
materials, including
stone, ceramic, engineered stone, concrete, metal, glass, wood, composite
materials and
combinations of one or more of the foregoing, by way of example and not
limitation.
Polishing and smoothing devices are well known in the art. Various devices
have
been suggested that include a main body and a head or plurality of heads
rotating in the
direction of the contact surface and that utilize an abrasive surface. For
example, U.S. Pat.
No. 7,022,004 to Bohler describes a device utilizing three tool holding
fixtures driven by a
central motor and a set of gears in a triangular system for rotation around
their own
rotational access such that the tool holding fixtures are rotatably mounted at
least around a
rotating axis serving as a work axis and each of the tool holding fixtures
requires a driving
means for rotating each of the tool holding fixtures. Another polishing device
is described
in U.S. Pat. No. 7,427,228 to Kirsch, which is a handheld material conditioner
including at
least three orbital head assemblies.
However, all of these orbital polishing devices use rotating polishing heads
that are
mounted to a plate and the plurality of polishing heads are simultaneously
driven by an
attached or external motor which powers a spindle or shaft in combination with
a series of
gears and/or belts to rotate the plurality of orbital polishing heads at the
same
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CA 02717530 2010-10-13
speed in the same direction. These polishing heads force the rotational
direction of the
abrasive pad to any contact area and all of the polishing heads are driven by
the
mechanical means to simultaneously rotate the polishing heads without any
independent
motion.
One of the problems associated with these orbital polishing devices is that
when
substrates to be smoothed or polished have surfaces that are curved or uneven,
the
simultaneous motion of all the orbital polishing heads can cause these uneven
and curved
portions to be flattened and/or rounded over. In addition, by using mechanical
force such
as gears and/or belts, the abrasive polishing pad can produce an uneven
surface on the
material to be polished, resulting in imperfections.
It would be desirable to provide an orbital smoothing and/or polishing device
in
= which each of the plurality of polishing heads is capable of independent
rotation. It
would also be desirable to provide a device that is capable of self-leveling
on uneven
surfaces so that such surfaces can be more evenly polished.
In addition, these orbital polishing devices can be used as a single device
hooked
up to a motor (i.e., a "handheld" device) or alternatively, can be used in
slab polishing
machine. Slab polishing machines are used for polishing materials such as
stone slabs and
other like materials and multiple orbital polishing devices are mounted to
smooth or
polish the entire width of the slab simultaneously.
One of the problems with using these orbital polishing devices in a slab
polishing
machine is that the polishing assemblies can become worn out and the gears and
belts can
break. If this happens, the slab polishing machine must be taken off line so
that the
orbital polishing device can be taken apart and rebuilt. Thus, it would be
desirable to
provide an orbital polishing device for use in a slab polishing machine that
can be more
easily repaired and replaced.
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v
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an orbital smoothing
device that
allows for each of a plurality of orbital polishing heads to rotate
independently of each
other.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an orbital smoothing
device
in which the plurality of orbital polishing heads are not driven by an
external mechanical
force.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an orbital
smoothing
device in which the plurality of orbital polishing heads do not require gears
or pulleys to
rotate.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an orbital
smoothing
device that is capable of polishing curved and uneven surfaces.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an orbital smoothing
device
that is capable of self-leveling against such curved and uneven surfaces.
To that end, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention relates
generally to
an orbital smoothing device for smoothing a surface of a substrate, said
orbital smoothing
device comprising:
a) a rotatable plate, wherein said plate is driveable by a motor in at
least one
of a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction; and
b) a plurality of smoothing pad assemblies coupled to said plate, wherein
each of said plurality of smoothing pad assemblies is capable of independent
rotation in
both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and wherein each of said
plurality of
smoothing pad assemblies comprises:
i) a shaft for coupling each of said smoothing pad assemblies to the
rotatable plate;
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CA 02717530 2010-10-13
ii)
means for providing independent rotation in both clockwise and
counterclockwise directions mounted on the shaft and securable in a pad
holder;
and
a pad holder for receiving and securing the means for independent
rotation, said pad holder having removably mounted thereon a smoothing pad
capable of smoothing the surface of the substrate when the rotatable plate is
driven by the motor, wherein each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies
independently rotates in the clockwise and/or the counterclockwise direction.
In another preferred embodiment, the present invention relates generally to a
method of smoothing a surface of substrate using an orbital smoothing device,
said
orbital smoothing device comprising a rotatable plate driveable by a motor in
at least one
of a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction and a plurality of smoothing
pad
assemblies coupled to said plate,
wherein each of said plurality of smoothing pad assemblies is capable of
independent rotation in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and
wherein each of said plurality of smoothing pad assemblies comprises a shaft
for
coupling each of said smoothing pad assemblies to the rotatable plate, means
for
providing independent rotation in both clockwise and counterclockwise
directions
mounted on the shaft and securable in a pad holder and a pad holder for
receiving and
securing the means for independent rotation, said pad holder having removably
mounted
thereon a smoothing pad capable of smoothing the surface of the substrate when
the
rotatable plate is driven by the motor,
wherein each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies independently
rotates
in the clockwise and/or the counterclockwise direction;
said method comprising the steps of:
a) contacting the surface of the substrate to be smoothed with the
plurality of
smoothing pad assemblies; and
b) driving the rotatable plate by the motor in at least the clockwise or
counterclockwise direction,
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CA 02717530 2010-10-13
wherein each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies independently
rotates
in the clockwise and/or the counterclockwise direction due to friction between
the
smoothing pad of each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies and the
surface to be
smoothed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following
description taken in connection with the accompanying figures, in which:
Figure 1 depicts an orbital smoothing device in accordance with one aspect of
the
invention.
Figure 2 depicts a plate of the orbital smoothing device in accordance with
one
aspect of the invention.
Figure 3 depicts an exploded view of polishing pad assembly in accordance with
one aspect of the present invention.
Figure 4 depicts an exploded view of a smoothing pad assembly in accordance
with another aspect of the present invention.
Figure 5 depicts a spherical bushing in accordance with one aspect of the
present
invention.
Figure 6 depicts the backside of the rotatable plate having a plurality of
polishing
pad assemblies mounted thereon.
Figure 7 depicts the smoothing pad assembly depicted in Figure 8 as it used
for
smoothing an uneven surface.
Figure 8 depicts an assembled smoothing pad assembly in accordance with one
aspect of the invention.
Also, while not all elements may be labeled in each figure, all elements with
the
same reference number indicate similar or identical parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention relates generally to a surface smoothing device which
can
be used as either a handheld device or, in the alternative, as one of a
plurality of
smoothing/polishing devices in a slab machine for smoothing or conditioning
slabs of
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substrate material. In addition, in one aspect of the invention, the device is
capable of
smoothing curved surfaces of a substrate, without flattening out or rounding
over such
surfaces.
To that end, in one preferred embodiment the present invention relates
generally
to an orbital smoothing device for smoothing a surface of a substrate, the
orbital
smoothing device comprising:
a) a rotatable plate, wherein said plate is driveable by a motor in at
least one
of a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction; and
b) a plurality of smoothing pad assemblies coupled to said plate, wherein
each of said plurality of smoothing pad assemblies is capable of independent
rotation in
both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and wherein each of said
plurality of
smoothing pad assemblies comprises:
i) a shaft for
coupling each of said smoothing pad assemblies to the
rotatable plate;
means for providing independent rotation in both clockwise and
counterclockwise directions mounted on the shaft and securable in a pad
holder;
and
a pad holder for receiving and securing the means for independent
rotation, said pad holder having removably mounted thereon a smoothing pad
capable of smoothing the surface of the substrate when the rotatable plate is
driven by the motor, wherein each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies
independently rotates in the clockwise and/or the counterclockwise direction.
As best seen in Figure 1, in a preferred embodiment the orbital smoothing
device
of the invention generally comprises a rotatable plate 10, wherein said
rotatable plate 10
is driveable by a electrical/mechanical motor 60 (shown in Figure 7) in at
least one of a
clockwise or a counterclockwise direction; and a plurality of smoothing pad
assemblies
12 coupled to said plate 10, wherein each of said plurality of smoothing pad
assemblies
12 is capable of independent rotation in both clockwise and counterclockwise
directions.
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CA 02717530 2010-10-13
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In addition, while the rotatable plate 10 is depicted in the figures as being
round, other
shapes could also be used in the practice of the present invention. For
example, it is
contemplated that a star-shaped plate can be used in which portions of the
plate material
have been removed in order to reduce the weight of the rotatable plate 10.
As seen in Figure 2, in one preferred embodiment the rotatable plate 10
includes a
plurality of openings 14 through which each of the plurality of smoothing pad
assemblies
12 may be coupled to the rotatable plated 10. The rotatable plate 10 also
optionally, but
preferably, includes an opening 16 therein through which water may be fed to
aid in the
polishing/smoothing action. In a preferred embodiment, the orbital smoothing
device of
the invention may be water fed, in which water is provided as a lubricant and
cleaning
solution for the substrate to be treated and also to reduce friction. In the
alternative, the
water feed can be omitted in certain application where it is not needed and/or
not desired.
The rotatable plate 10 is typically constructed of a material such as steel,
aluminum, hard plastic or resin, and other similar materials, by way of
example and not
limitation and accepts the mounting of and host for the pads themselves. In
one
preferred embodiment, the rotatable plate is constructed of aluminum. In
another
preferred embodiment, the rotatable plate is constructed of a hard plastic
resin.
In a preferred embodiment, as depicted in Figure 3, each of the plurality of
smoothing pad assemblies 12 comprises a shaft 18 for coupling each of said
smoothing
pad assemblies 12 to the rotatable plate 10 through opening 14. The shaft 18
may be
coupled to the rotatable plate by 10 bolting the shaft 18 thereto. However
other means of
coupling the shaft 18 to the rotatable plate 10 may also be used in the
practice of the
invention.
The shaft 18 has mounted thereon a washer 20, a rubber spacer 22 and a
hexagonal spacer 24. Also mounted on the shaft 18 is a ball bearing 28, which
provides
independent rotation in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions.
Various ball
bearings may be used in the practice of the invention, however one suitable
bearing is a
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fl
single row deep groove ball bearing such as available from Nachi-Fujikoshi
Corp., Japan.
Other means for providing independent rotation in both clockwise and
counterclockwise
directions would also be usable in the practice of the present invention. In
addition, the
placement of the rubber spacer 22 is not critical and the rubber space 22 may
be
positioned above or below the rotatable plate to produce the desired result.
The ball bearing 28 is securable in pad holder 29 that receives and secures
the ball
bearing 28 therein. In a preferred embodiment, the ball bearing 28 is
securable in the pad
holder 29 by means of a snap ring 26 that fits into a circular groove 32 in
the pad holder
29. Other means of securing the ball bearing 28 as well as other means for
providing
independent rotation are also usable in the practice of the invention and
would be
generally known to those skilled in the art. The pad holder 29 has removably
mounted
thereon a smoothing pad 36 capable of smoothing the surface of the substrate
when the
rotatable plate 10 is driven by the motor, and each of the plurality of
smoothing pad
assemblies 12 independently rotates in the clockwise and/or the
counterclockwise
direction. A second washer 30 may also be mounted on the shaft 18 below the
ball
bearing 28. The pad holder 29 is typically constructed of aluminum or aluminum
alloy,
stainless steel, hard plastic or resin, and combinations thereof. In a
preferred
embodiment, the pad holder 29 is constructed of aluminum.
As discussed above, one of the advantages of the present invention is that
each of
the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies 12 independently rotate in the
clockwise and/or
the counterclockwise direction due solely to friction between the smoothing
pad 36 and
the surface to be smoothed, which is further shown in Figure 6, which depicts
the back
side of the rotatable plate 10 with the plurality of polishing pad assemblies
12 mounted
thereon and demonstrate the rotational movement of the rotatable plate
relative to the
plurality of polishing pad assemblies 12. When used herein, the term
"independently
rotates" is intended to mean that each of the smoothing pad assemblies 12 can
rotate
independently of the other in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction. In
other
words, the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies 12 are not driven by an
outside
mechanical force, such as a belt or pulley and in fact belts and pulleys are
not required
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,
nor preferred for use in the device of the present invention to cause movement
of each of
the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies 12.
Thus, in a preferred embodiment, no outside mechanical force is used to drive
the
rotation of each of the plurality of smoothing assemblies 12 and the plurality
of
smoothing pad assemblies 12 are each separately rotatable in a clockwise and a
counterclockwise direction and are not mechs-nically engaged. The rotation of
the
smoothing pad assemblies is driven only by the friction of the smoothing pad
36 against
the surface to be smoothed or polished and the friction of the smoothing pad
36 against
the surface to be smoothed or polished drives the rotation of the rotatable
plate, which
allows each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies 12 to rotate
independently of
each other in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction.
In another preferred embodiment and as depicted in Figure 4, the shaft 44
encompasses both a spacer portion 44 and a threaded portion 46 and the spacer
portion is
secured to the rotatable plate 10. Mounted on the threaded portion 46 is a
spherical
bushing 42 which provides the means for providing independent rotation in both
clockwise and counterclockwise directions which is securable in the pad holder
29 with a
securing means such as snap ring 26 that fits into a circular groove 32 in the
pad holder 29.
The spherical bushing 42 is also depicted in Figure 5 which shows the
spherical inner
bearing 54 arranged inside the spherical outer bearing 56 which allows the
spherical
bushing not only rotational movement but also movement in a vertical (i.e., up
and down)
direction, as shown in Figure 8. Figure 7 depicts the movement of a plurality
of polishing
pad assemblies 12 against an uneven surface 50 when using spherical bushing
42.
The use of spherical bushing 42 is desirable in a smoothing device that is to
be
used on both flat and curved portions of a substrate because the spherical
bushing 42
allows each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies to self-level against
uneven and
curved surfaces. However, while the use of the spherical bushing 42 is
desirable in this
application (i.e., for curved and Uneven surfaces), it may not be desirable in
applications
such as a slab polishing machine, where the surfaces to be polished or
smoothed are
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CA 02717530 2010-10-13 .
relatively flat, because the additional movement allowed by the spherical
bushing 42 (i.e.,
up and down movement) can cause one or more of the plurality of polishing pad
assemblies 12 to slide off the edge of the surface to be polished and to tilt
and possibly
even jam against the edge of the surface.
The smoothing pad 36 is removably mounted to the pad holder 29 by securing
means 38. The securing means typically include hook and loop fasteners,
adhesives,
magnets and clamps by way of example and not limitation. The securing means 38
is in
turn mounted on a rubber pad 40 which is secured to the holder 29. Typically,
the
securing means 38 is mounted on the rubber pad 40 and the rubber pad is
mounted to the
pad holder 29 using a suitable adhesive. In one embodiment, the adhesive
comprises a
thermosetting adhesive such as a contact cement or an epoxy adhesive.
The device described herein can be used in slab polishing machines that
utilize
multiple polishing heads. As discussed above, these slab polishing machines
are
designed, for example for polishing granite and marble slabs, engineered
materials and
countertop slabs and perform pre-polishing, rough-polishing, finish-polishing
and
burnishing continuously.
Typically smoothing pad 36 comprises an abrasive surface that is suitable for
polishing or microfinishing a selected surface. The smoothing pad 36 may
utilize various
abrasives depending on the surface being polished, including, but not limited
to felt,
cocoa mats, sandpaper, and resins impregnated with various abrasives including
diamond, boron carbide aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, tin oxide, cerium
oxide, and
sinter powder and include both loose and bonded abrasives. Particle sizes of
the abrasive
may range from submicron up to about 15 microns depending on the application.
The smoothing pads 36 usable with the smoothing head assembly 12 are typically
round so as to coincide with the shape of the smoothing pad assembly 12.
However, both
the smoothing pads 36 and the surface of the smoothing pad assembly that
receives the
smoothing pad 36 can have a different shape as well, such as diamond shape or
an oval
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CA 02717530 2010-10-13
k
shape, depending on the surface being treated and the availability of the
smoothing pads
36.
Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, each of the plurality of smoothing pad
assemblies 12 is capable of rotating at speeds as low as 50 rpm, for example
when using a
felt buffer, up to about 10,000 rpm depending in part on the abrasive being
used in the
polishing pad 36, the tools and the surface being smoothed and/or polished. In
one
preferred embodiment, each of the plurality of smoothing pad assembles 12
independently rotates at a speed between about 200 and 500 rpm.
As disclosed herein, the resistance of each of the individual smoothing pad
assemblies 12 against the surface of the material to be smoothed or polished
is preferably
the only force used to cause the rotational movement of the each of the
individual
smoothing pad assemblies and each individual smoothing pad assembly is capable
of
independent rotation in both a clockwise and a counterclockwise direction.
There is no
driving force for the individual smoothing pad assemblies 12 and no belts or
gears are
required to provide movement.
The plurality of smoothing pad assemblies are mounted on the rotatable plate
10
at least approximately equidistant from each other. In a preferred embodiment,
a
minimum of three individual smoothing pad assemblies 12 are mounted on the
rotatable
plate 10. However, in some applications at least four or more individual
smoothing pad
assemblies 12 may be used, depending in part on the size of each individual
smoothing
pad 12 and the size of the rotatable plate 10 to which the plurality of
smoothing pad
assemblies 12 are attached. Again, each of the individual smoothing pad
assemblies 12 is
capable of independent rotation and independently rotates while the rotatable
plate 10 is
rotatably driven by the mechanical/electrical motor 60.
Materials that can be treated with the orbital smoothing device described
herein
include, but are not limited to stone, ceramic, engineered stone, concrete,
metal, glass,
wood, composite materials, laminates and combinations of one or more of the
foregoing.
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In another preferred embodiment, the present invention also relates generally
to a
method of smoothing a surface of a substrate using the orbital smoothing
device
described herein, the method comprising the steps of:
a) contacting
the surface of the substrate to be smoothed with the plurality of
smoothing pad assemblies; and
b)
driving the rotatable plate by the motor in at least the clockwise or
counterclockwise direction,
wherein each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies independently
rotates
in the clockwise and/or the counterclockwise direction due to friction between
the
smoothing pad of each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies and the
surface to be
smoothed.
As described in detail above, the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies are
not
driven by an outside mechanical force. All that is necessary to independently
drive the
rotation of each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies is friction
between the
smoothing pad of each of the plurality of smoothing pad assemblies and the
surface to be
smoothed.
It should also be understood that the following claims are intended to cover
all of
the generic and specific features of the invention described herein and all
statements of
the scope of the invention that as a matter of language might fall there
between.
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